Series: N/A
Author: Alexandra Sirowy
Page Count: 400
Published: August 18th, 2015
Publisher: Simon Schuster Books for Young Readers
3 Stars ★★★
As a child, Stella and her friend Jeanie disappeared. Jeanie never came back, and her body was never found. Eleven years later, the mystery still haunts the town of Savage.
Stella's summer is ahead of her, and she's hoping for a relaxing break spending time with friends and hanging out at the beach. Her hopes are shattered when a body is found... a body that looks like Jeanie. Suddenly, old wounds are ripped open and Stella fears that she may be targeted by a killer. With her old friend Sam and Jeanie's brother Daniel, she hopes to uncover the truth of what's happening in Savage. But the truth may be more disturbing than she expects, and a monster may be killing the residents of Savage.
This book looked quite creepy to me. I mean look at that cover! And the idea of a monster going after people..... Sounds really, really creepy. While parts of this book certainly held a good creep-factor, other pieces of this book annoyed and disappointed me.
I liked the mystery behind it all. Who took Jeanie? Is she dead? Who is the body that was found? I was kept reading because I just needed answers to these questions. The element of suspense was really used well by the author. I loved how folktales and superstitions played a big role in the story, with the main characters actually considering that a monster might be terrorizing their town.
I also really liked Sam. He was my favourite character: sweet, forgiving, and determined, he decided to help Stella out even after she ditched him years ago. He was honestly the only character that I really liked, though.
I didn't like Stella, I thought she was kinda of superficial. I really, really hated Zoey, Stella's friend. Zoey was so freaking annoying. She was like that mosquito buzzing in your ear when you're just trying to enjoy a campfire, but no matter how much you swat at it, it won't go away. I rolled my eyes so much at her. I think the book would have been a lot better without her, to be perfectly honest.
I think the big reveal at the end was very anti-climactic. I was hoping for something creepier, but the explanation for everything was mundane and disappointing.
Overall, while I liked the creepy atmosphere of the book, I only like Sam and disliked the other characters. The ending was also disappointing.
I recommend this book to readers looking for a creepy book with a main character in the "popular" crowd. If you like books about mysterious disappearances, you may enjoy this one.
